Yes & NO

This morning I read and discussed James 5:12 which says:

"Above all, my brothers, do not swear - not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Let your "Yes" be yes, and your "No" no, or you will be condemned."

This verse has a few principles that I think really apply to many of us in today's culture. As we head into the weekend ask yourself these questions that come from this power packed verse:

Do I have to convince people that I am going to do something I say I am going to do? Or, do my past actions speak for themselves and they just know that when I say I am going to do something....I do it?

Do I easily change my mind based on public opinion, what others think I should do, or, even what seems to be an easier way of doing something? Or, do I do what is right and wise because it that is what I am supposed to do?

If a meeting, party or anything starts at a certain time and I am expected to be on time......am I always late? Am I one of those people who everyone knows will be late to everything?

If I say I will be somewhere or do something specific....do I do it?

Do the people who know me at work, church and in my circle of friends see me as a responsible person that they can trust to do what I say I will do?

When the James gives us this verse, he is talking about character issues that sometimes don't get as much press as the more scandalous ones....but they are very important. This principle is vital to a local Fellowship that is volunteer intensive.

I am so glad that at CSF we have so many people who are responsible and that they take serious the commitments they have made to God and our Fellowship. We survive and thrive on the backs of the people who have made commitments to serve, give, use their gifts, share their faith and sometimes make commitments that are inconvenient for themselves but better for those in the CROWD.

From every person in the band who are all volunteers to the volunteers who clean our bathrooms.....thank you for being people who do what you say...when you say you will do it. It truly is a mark of a great Fellowship.

See you Sunday as we kickoff our new series....invite a friend!

2008 Is done

Last night we finished planning the larger "Fellowship Wide" strategic ministry ideas for 2008. A quick glimpse into some of the creative and fun things in 2008 shows that we will offer our Thrive Seminars more often with more topics. We will offer a very creative marriage message series and conference. We will have a huge spring dance that will rock the night away 80's style, we are having a family day camp next summer and next fall we will resurrect KOINONIA!

Of course their is much more.......

How will you know the major vision andstrategic plans for 2008? We NEED you to come to our Vision Night next Wednesday, September 5th!

Our staff is back in the office....ready to kickoff the fall!

Christmas In August

As you know our staff is away for a few days. We are having a good time and getting much accomplished. As a matter of fact we spent last night dreaming, planning and putting some details down for this years Christmas series and especally Christmas Eve Services.

Christmas is four months away! Doesn't that sound crazy? This summer has been so hot that Christmas seems like it should be much further away than that! Why do we as a staff plan our Sunday services and major other ministry events so far in advance?

Because we always want to provide you and our community with the best possible services. Full of inspiration, quality and creative excellence.

Because we highly value what happens on Sunday morning and know that lives will be changed. It deserves our best.

Becuase advance planning allows us to get many volunteers involved using their gifts and passions.

Becuase we want to be creative and culturally relevant. That does not happen with 4 days advance planning.

So.........Our Christmas service planning has started and will be mostly done in the next week or two! Our next message series is called Headliners and Newsmakers...what would Jesus say to different people making the headlines these days? This week is Michael Vick! We planned this series back in May! Unfornately for Michael Vick his summer went from bad to worse. This Sunday we will share Biblically what Jesus may say to Michael Vick if they sat down and had a cup of coffee or Gatoraide together!

16 months from now

Where is the CSF staff? We are at the beach taking a few days to do some team building, have some fun AND plan and prepare for the next sixteen months of ministry life at our Fellowship. Sixteen months from now we will celebrate our ten year anniversary. What specifically will we be doing? What are we going to be trusting God to achieve? That is what we are talking about as a staff over the next few days.

Then on Wednesday night, September 5th, we will have our Fellowship Service Vision Night. On that night I will share with our Fellowship specifically the vision for the next sixteen months. We are excited about what God has done and will do at CSF!

Say a prayer for our staff as we plan and pray. Say a prayer that no one gets hurt during our team building adventures!

Have a great day.....it is time for me to get going!

Behind The Music

Yesterday was awesome. Our annual Behind The Music concert to kickoff the fall season was another HUGE success. The move to three services was needed and well received. We had 200 people attend the noon service. We also had our largest ever attendance for any service. We even exceded our Christmas and Easter attendance on the last Sunday in August before school has officially started! What was our attendance??? I am not going to say.....I said that my BLOG was not going to be a method of teling the world our attendance numbers!

However, I do want to say this:

Thanks to the band that practiced for many, many, many, hours the last few weeks.

Thanks to the tech and light teams that were at CSF till 2am on Sunday morning and spent many hours here this week.

Thanks to the nursery volunteers who have agreed to serve in one of our three services.

Thanks to the people who invited their friends and neighbors!

Thanks to the parking and host team who got everyone in and out between services with only 25 minutes between each service.

Thanks to everyone who sat up front and parked across the street at the warehouse.

Thanks to our great CSF staff who always brings their "A game" every Sunday!

Sunday was awesome and it honored and glorified our Savior who gave the ultimate sacrifice for us!

Just My Luck

Yesterday we sent out the weekly Chalk Talk News Update. On it we said that "Kenny's Blog is M- F up by 10am..." Figures, that this morning when I come in to type it up and have it out by 7:30am that our computer system goes down. We are just now up and running again.

That technological mishap is also exactly what I was talking about yesterday. When I said their are some things only God can control. We are responsible for what we can do....and we will be held accountable. That is always my luck....I mention something that could go wrong and WHAM!

Yesterday morning I even studied with the young man I meet with James 4:13-14 which says:

"Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money. Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, If it is the Lord's will we will live and do this or that!"

I never learn....those morning Bible times always come into play during the day. What the weekly Chalk Talk should have said was...If the Lord wills the Blog will be M-F and up by 10am!
Have you ever noticed how great our campus looks every day of every week? It is because we have a team of volunteers on our GREEN Team that work hard to keep it that way. Tomorrow morning that group will be out here again. They are spreading mulch, trimming trees, cleaning up and getting everything ready for our Behind The Music service. If you would like to come meet a great group of CSF people and enjoy that kind of service...then Clint would love to have you come and join them. They will be here from 7am - 10:30am.

We all have different gifts and passions. Hundreds of people serve every week to help CSF impact our city. From rocking babies, serving in the homeless shelters, serving in our public schools, playing in the band to spreading mulch....CSF is about Fellowship. Doing things together for the cause of Christ.

Speaking of public schools.....say a prayer for our student ministry volunteers tonight and staff. We are hosting the Porter Ridge Varsity football team in the main auditorium for pre-game dinner and I will be sharing the devotion. Their will be 60 high school boys here hearing about the acceptance and love of Christ.

The Big IF

I have been reading in 1 Kings about King Solomon. Here is a person just like me and you! No really....read the story. God promises him that he will have a successful kingdom and be known as a great King just like his dad, king David. However, the chapters that tell Solomon all the great things God wants to do in his life are full of the word "if".

• If you walk in my ways
• If you you walk in integrity
• If you you follow my commands
• If you don't serve and worship other Gods
  

Solomon is known for his wisdom that he gave to others and sometimes lived by....he just did not always act wisely himself. Just like I do many times in my life, he did not heed the words of God when God says that IF we choose poorly, we will reap the consequences and not experience God's best.

As Christians we sometimes fall into the trap of thinking that all things are going to work out and God is going to do what God is going to do. We train ourselves to think that our actions both good or bad will not matter. It does........It matters a whole lot. You and I have choices to make everyday. The choices we make will help shape the life we live and experience.

The same is true with our Fellowship! Let me leave you with this thought and statement: "This Sunday will be an amazing Sunday as we have our Behind The Music Concert. Many people who are disconnected from God and a local church can really be touched by this service in ways that will last for eternity. Many new people will come and have a great experience. This can happen......"

• If the Players at CSF pray specifically for this day!
• If the Players at CSF purposefully invite new people to come!
  
• If the Players at CSF give our guests the best parking and seating.
  
• If the Band has practiced and is ready to give their best effort.
  
• If the Tech Team has practiced and is ready.
  
• If the Staff has prayed and prepared our hearts and lives to be used by God.
• If the Nursery workers show up on time and serve with a passion.
  
• If the Host Team and Parking Team show up on time and do their best.
• If CSF regular attendees choose to come to the 9 or 12 service to leave as much room as possible for the 10:30 service.
  
• If the Players at CSF are purposeful about greeting and meeting new people who may not know what to do or where to go.
  

As you can tell.....this Sunday and every Sunday is about us all serving together as a committed team. Great and impacting services just don't happen. Most people who don't normally go to church, just don't appear here on Sunday. God is always looking for people who will commit and then be willing to be used in amazing ways.

Of course, we could do all of these things and a hurricane could still blow through and mess up the day. There are always things that could happen that we can not control. That is not our issue. God is responsible for those things.

However, it is up to us as individuals to be responsible and can control what we can choose to do. That is just the way God works in our world. These next few weeks at CSF have the potential to be our largest impact ever! If..............

First Day Blues

I took my oldest son to breakfast this morning. I have taken him to breakfast on the first day of school ever since he started kindergarten. He is now 9 and going into 4th grade. As we talked about school starting and his new teachers, I could tell he was not wanting to go! He loves summer! He loves playing outside, swimming, traveling and playing baseball with his friends, going on vacation, going to grandmas, having sleep overs and everything else that makes summer his favorite time of the year. He is not really into school........

This morning I told him that even though school was not his favorite, that it was important and he would need to get good grades to keep playing sports and eventually get into his first choice of college. We have to have this kind of talk about 3 times a month during the school year. For many boys and even some girls, this is a common attitude toward school. Too boring, too much sitting, too much homework and in their minds...it has no "real-time" value.

As common as it may be for school.....at CSF we never want our kids to view our All-Stars Children's ministry in that way. I am so proud of Mrs. Chick, Mrs. Stacey, Mrs. Leah and the team of volunteers that do such a great job on Sunday mornings. They not only make Sunday morning a time to learn about God and the Bible.....they make it fun and interesting. It is high energy and creative. It is a time to be with friends and learn about Jesus Christ who loves them dearly. It is a time to sing, do drama and begin the maturation process of becoming a fully-devoted follower of Christ!

Every week I hear about new kids who have come through a day in our Children's ministry and tell their parents..."that was awesome...can we come back next week!" You should know that our children's ministry staff and volunteers have been working real hard over the last few weeks to get ready for the fall season at CSF. This Sunday take time after you drop your child off to tell them thanks for making our kids area such a wonderful place.

At CSF we believe that learning about Jesus and the Bible should be fun, practical, engaging and experiential. That is true in the kid's area too!

One Person At A Time!

This Sunday we will be having three services! 9am...10:30.....12......

This Sunday we will have our huge "Behind The Music" concert and celebration!

The following Sunday we start our new Fall series that I am sure will draw some attention. We are calling it...

"Headliners and News Makers: What Would Jesus Say To These People?"

• September 2nd Michael Vick
  
• September 9th Paris Hilton
  
• September 16th Mike Minter (Will be here and tell you himself!)
  
• September 23rd Bill Gates
  
• September 30th Tom Cruise
  

Starting with Behind The Music this Sunday, we have a great month planned which will enable us to really learn a lot, and also give us a great set of Sundays to invite our friends, co-workers and neighbors.

However, the ability to really see life change will only happen when each "one" of us reaches out in a relational way and invites "one" person at a time. People who are already Christians and looking for a great church will just show up for cool services that offer good teaching, great worship, gourmet coffee and quality childcare. (We have all that at CSF) However, people who are not regular church attenders normally will actually need a personal invitation. They need someone to ask them to attend Behind The Music or to come to any Encounter Service.

If we are to experience more than just big crowds over the next few weeks, it will because the people of CSF took time and invited "one" person who needs to hear about the amazing grace and love of Jesus Christ. Then, and only then, do we have great crowds that are filled with spiritual seekers and those who are relationally disconnected from God and true Fellowship.

Start praying about who you know that needs to be invited and THEN actually do it! You have never experienced an Encounter Service like you will when you are sitting next to someone who you know is in need of a loving Savior. You sit in your seat not as a spectator but as a PLAYER because you are working with the band, the speaker and everyone on the stage to bring someone to Christ and be on His Team. Together, we will have come to that service to worship, learn and be proactive about life change. One life at a time.

Can you imagine how great the next few Sundays will be if everyone got serious about bringing at least "One" person who needed to be there! If you are a little scared....a little nervous...not sure what to say...then rest easy as you take in the truth of this verse. Jesus tells us to be sure and know this:

Acts 1:8 "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth."

All you and I have to do is be willing....God will help us through the Holy Spirit that lives in us. We are to be his witness...we are to Share....we are responsible for the lives of the people in our relational circles.

Learning & Doing The Basics

As many of you know, I coach my son's Pop Warner Football team here in Matthews. Our team is made up of 7 - 9 year-olds. Many of whom have never played tackle football on a team....this is their first experience. It is a lot of fun AND sometimes very frustrating.

My assistant coaches and I have spent countless hours teaching these young athletes the basics of football. How to get in a 3 point stance, a 4 point stance, how to block, how to tackle, how to throw, how to catch and the list goes on and on and on and on and on...you get the point.

About the time we think they have the basics down and we can move on to something more complicated and at a higher level.....we notice that these boys are still struggling with the basics. So....we go over it one more time! Last week, after practice, I was hot, sweaty, thirsty ( it was about 150 degrees outside) and I thought to myself....."I wish we could stop having to spend so much time on the basic stuff and really get into really playing football and running cool plays and drawing up new defensive strategies and....."

As I was thinking all of this....I heard The Coach of my life (God) say to me....."now you know how I feel when I see you and others stumbling over the basics of serving me, sharing your faith, stewardship, loving others in a significant relationship and living a life that is fully devoted to me. I want to do so much more in your life and the lives of those at CSF but you are still struggling the with the basics." Ouch!

Hebrews 5:11 - 14 says that we should all get to a point where we no longer are spiritual babies only wanting the easy to digest "Milk" of God's teachings. It says that God wants to use us in amazing ways to lead and teach others....but we are not learning and following through every day on the basic life principles and disciplines of the Christian life. For most of us, like my little athletes, it is not an information problem it is a follow through, commitment and constant practice issue.

Starting in September we will be offering THRIVE seminars/groups to help some of us to finally get the basics down and then for others to move beyond the basics and start really being all God created us to be.

Mike Minter Day ...September 16th!

Last week the Carolina Panthers lost a great player, awesome team-mate, respected team leader and more importantly a wonderful Christian influence in the locker room. Mike Minter retired from the Panthers because his knees had taken all they could handle. Mike leaves the Panthers as their all-time leading tackler and most games played as a Panther. If you have followed Mike's career, you know what an impact he had on the games and in our wonderful city.

Jerry Richardson, the Panther's owner, was visibly shaken with emotion has he stood next to Mike and announced the sudden and unexpected retirement. Mike was a true Panther and is well loved in our city!

So......what is Mike Minter going to do on Sunday's now that he is retired? Where will Mike be when the Panthers have their first home game of the season on September 16th?

He is coming to be our guest speaker at Charlotte South Fellowship! He will be here live and in person sharing his story about God's grace and how his relationship with Jesus Christ has helped him become the man he is today and to be a pillar of integrity as professional athlete. (Can't say that about pro-athlete!)

We are calling it Mike Minter Day as we will be also honoring him for being a positive Christian role model in our city! The Porch Cafe will be decorated in Panther colors and everyone is encouraged to wear their Panther stuff. It is the first home game and we are going to have a great time. If you have tickets to the game......you will have more than enough time to attend our first service at 9am, meet Mike, have a great time of inspirational teaching from Mike, worship with our band and then hit the tailgating!

This is a great Sunday to invite a friend that would love to hear Mike. We will be advertising through local school football teams, Pop Warner football and the like. This is a great way to impact a large amount of people with the grace and love of Jesus Christ as they hear Mike share his story.

I love this time of year!

Public Schools Are A HUGE Mission Field

About every other week I get asked if CSF is going to start our own school. Now that we have our own building and lots of land, many people think this is just a natural progression of what a growing church should do. My answer today is the same as it was when we had no land, no building and 8 people starting CSF. NO..........

I don't have anything against private Christian Schools. I think they are great and can serve a vital role in a church's vision and purpose. However, the vision and game plan of CSF has always been to impact our community through serving and volunteering in the public and private schools that do not have a Christian heritage or protocol.

Our schools are a huge mission field with thousands of kids who are in need of Jesus Christ. Our kids and teenagers face more difficult times than ever before when it comes to morality and doing the right thing. (When I say difficult...I am not talking about having to walk to school in the snow, not having computers, cell phones, etc.)

A recent study had this to say about our schools:

"Teenagers say drug problems at school are getting worse, and parents express doubts about ever making such schools drug free, a new study says.

The percentage of teens who say they attend high schools with drug problems has increased from 44 percent to 61 percent since 2002, and the percentage in middle schools has increased from 19 percent to 31 percent, according to the survey to be released Thursday by Columbia University’s National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse.

Four in five teens in high school told researchers they have witnessed the use, sale or possession of illegal drugs on high school grounds, or seen someone who was drunk or high on campus."

This is no time to run from the problem. We must attack it head on! You should know that our new Student Pastor has a vision and game plan to help impact our local schools. He has been on the Porter Ridge campus all summer getting to know coaches and students. Again, this year, we will be hosting the PR varsity football team at CSF for pre-game meals and devotions. He is also making plans to be able to get a positive influence at other schools.

At our Vision Night 2007 I will reveal a new ministry plan that will give every person at CSF a time and opportunity to get involved in our schools.....we must do this! We must become a positive impact at the schools and serve the teachers and administration in helpful and creative ways. Of course, we will do this in ways that do not violate any rules.

We cannot afford to pull out all Christian leadership and influence and retreat to our own safe groups. We cannot just expect that unchurched kids are going to show up at our local churches for "youth group" or kid's ministry. We will need to make a impact where they are....the local schools.

Today, I have been invited to speak to a group of high school teachers. I was asked to come and hopefully encourage them to be more than just givers of knowledge but to be adults who help change a student's life forever. I love teachers and coaches....they don't get paid much but their impact on lives is greater than most professions. CSF has always been a supporter of local school teachers and coaches! At Vision Night 2007 you will hear how we are going to ramp that up to new and unheard of heights!

Last thing....today marks 30 years since Elvis died! I was only six years old but I still remember my mom crying on that day. I am not much into music...But I do think Elvis was one of the best ever!

New speakers and sound system going UP!

Five weeks ago I challenged all those who call CSF home to pray about giving toward the purchase of a new sound system and speakers. This was a huge need because we were still using our portable system from our days as a portable Fellowship. The old speakers were breaking down and worse yet, we had to have them on the stage....which meant they were in your face if you sat up front.

No one wanted to sit up front and get blown away by the music! I could not blame you....it was bad! However, as of this coming Sunday, those days are over! Our new sound system and speakers arrive this week, and will be hung high in the ceiling for complete surround sound excellence that is powerful but not over-bearing. Thanks to about 40 families who prayed and then gave as we raised $45,000 in 5 weeks and were able to secure our new speakers! That is awesome and it shows what God can do when we have people who are willing to trust Him and "Bet The Farm." I am so proud of the fact that at CSF we can be challenged to be fully-devoted followers in every aspect of our lives....even in the one that makes many of us cringe.....our finances. When it comes to praying and giving, I love the fact that many people at CSF are living out the truth of 2 Corinthians 9:7 "Each person should give what they have decided in their heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver!"

Starting this Sunday the front rows will be Player seating. We need all CSF Players to sit up front so that our many guest who are coming can choose to sit in the less intimidating back seats. I promise you...the jokes are funnier and view is better in the first three rows!

Be praying and thinking about who you are inviting to this years "Behind The Music" concert. With our new sound system, new creative stage design and the power of the music...this will be an Encounter Service to remember.

Go Ahead.....sleep in and have a nice breakfast!

Are you one of those people (or families) that likes to take it easy on Sunday mornings? If you had the chance, you would love to stay up late on Saturday night..... knowing you could sleep in on Sunday. Once you were up you would like to take your time and have a nice breakfast and then sip your coffee while scanning the paper or your favorite websites.

Maybe you thought it would be great to be able to let the baby take his or her routine 9am nap since the little angel gets up at 6am EVERY morning. While the baby is napping you get a little shut-eye yourself or are able to spend some quiet moments with your adoring spouse.

Maybe you would like to hit the gym or tennis court and then meet some friends at Starbucks?

Well.....Go ahead and do all of these things on Sunday morning and then join us for our new noon Encounter Service! That's right we are moving to 3 services on August 26th.

Having 3 services also gives everyone a chance to be one of the hundreds of volunteers that serve every Sunday morning around our campus. You can serve and then still enjoy and be impacted by one of the Encounter Services! The Porch Cafe will be open from 8:45 - 1:15 pm every Sunday to meet your thirst and snack needs!

We are gearing up for our most exciting and impacting season of ministry here at CSF! Don't miss out! Don't be a bench sitter! Be a Player!

Today, as your going about your life, remember what Paul said in Colossians 3:17...

"Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him."

Be an Impact Player today and make a difference that will last for eternity. Start today praying about who you are going to invite to Behind The Music!

Evil Can Still Bite

Yesterday we had a great Encounter Service! It was one of those messages where I felt as though as a leader and speaker I needed to be crystal clear. I have heard from a few that it was clear and direct. The call to action....to actually do something with one's faith can sometimes be hard to hear.

To actually have a transformed heart that leads to a reorientation of ones actions is a call to impact. It is a call to do something significant with your one and only life. The stakes are high...as Christians we are called to action in our communities because all around us evil crouches at our door waiting to strike. From this weekend's shooting at a church in Missouri to our everyday struggle to do the right thing.....our enemy, though eternally defeated, still wants to hurt us.

Biblically we know that Satan is real. We know he has power and he still wants to wreck marriages, lives, churches and everything that is good and right about our world. A good example of how Satan though eternally defeated by Jesus Christ's resurrection is still able to "bite" is seen in this real story about a snake out west that last week had its head chopped off but still was able to spin around and bite and inject venom into the person who had just severed the snakes head from it's body.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20212558/

Why be action oriented and actually get in the game as a Player?

1 Peter 5:8 says..."Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour."

What Does It Take To Be A Player

Churches, like sports teams, are full of people who are on the Team but they are not Players who impact the game. The are bench sitters. Unlike sports, to be a Player on God's team is not based on ability or a coaches view of you. God has gifted and asked that all Christians be fully-devoted followers of Christ who are making an impact in their world. They impact this game we call life.

Being a player is not based on ability or the amount of time one has been on God's team. It is based on your availability and your to choice to be obedient or not. So.....how does the Bible describe a fully-devoted follower of Christ? What is the heart of a Player? At CSF we call these Biblical descriptions the Six S's. We took the descriptions and made them S words for ease in remembering them.

Salvation: Accepting God's grace through Jesus Christ, which leads to Salvation and eternal life. (Ephesians 2:8-9) You can't be a player unless you first join the team!

Spiritual Growth: The ongoing evidence of a life being reoriented around Christ and the truth of the Bible. (2 Peter 3:18) This is a commitment to Bible Study, Prayer and continued growth in your beliefs. Not perfection....just a life that is oriented for growth.

Significant Relationships: Participation in the life of the body of Christ and connection in authentic relationships. (Acts 2:46) We all need to be relationships with others where we are giving and receiving love, care and biblical fellowship.

Serving: Serving Christ's body, the church, according to your God given gifts and passions. (Romans 12:6-8) If you don't serve others.....you can't make an impact. Their are many ways to serve....we must choose to do it.

Stewardship: Honoring God with your financial resources through tithing. (1 Cor. 16:1-2; 2 Cor. 6-12) The Bible is clear on this one...full devotion means we trust God with our finances and give as He has directed.

Sharing: Participating in helping to spread the good news of Jesus Christ to those who do not know or believe. (2 Cor. 5:18-21) People are God's highest priority. We are commanded to share God's salvation message with others.

Very few people do all these well all the time. However, our hearts desire and life orientation should be to have each of these as constants in our life. We are to be obedient and find joy in that...then leave the results up to God!

I hope each Christian at CSF will take serious the call of the One who saved us to be a impact player.

See you Sunday....

Are You A Player?

No...No...I am not talking about the false illusion some of us had of ourselves in High School!

In the game of life as a Christ follower are you actually in the game and making a difference in people's lives? Or, are you just on God's team walking around with your Letterman's Jacket because you are on the team and have done the minimum required to get that sacred jacket.

In every sport in high school that issued letters, jackets or even sweaters.....their were a few "athletes" who did just enough to earn the jacket. They wanted to prance around the hallways of their school wearing the jacket. They never really played enough to impact the games...but they had a jacket just like the real players. In high school this could be actually funny and no real harm was done.

In the game of life it is tragic. Christians who are glad they are on God's team, (They are saved and will be going to heaven) but they really don't impact anyone or anything around them. They show up for the Sunday service, worship, get some good preachin' and then head back to their daily lives. They feel good that they have given God what seems to be the minimum requirement in many of our churches today. They came and enjoyed a worship service and blessed God with their 1-2 hour presence.....including drive time.

At CSF we have biblically defined what a fully devoted follower of Christ looks like. Here we call these people....Players! Are you a Player? Tomorrow I will give you a clear biblical picture for you to compare your life to......

The One Thing

This past Sunday I taught on the Philippians 3:7-14. We learned that the Prize Paul was straining toward was not salvation. He already had that and he knew full well that salvation is a gift of grace from God and it is not anything we have to earn, work hard for or sweat for to obtain.

Paul was talking about the Prize of being all he could be for Christ in this...his one and only life. He wanted his sacrifice for others to be passionate as Christ's ha been for him. He wanted to get to the end of the game of life and know he had not stopped and that he had pressed on toward toward the high calling God had placed on his life.

Paul also said in that passage that he knew what was the greatest thing..."the one thing I do" that he should be giving his life to. Do you know what is the greatest thing in your life. That "one thing" you press toward? What will that "one thing" bring you? Will the results last forever?

In his new book, Quiet Strength, Head Football Coach of the Indianapolis Colts Tony Dungy said this to end his book:

"I coach football. But the good I can do to glorify God along the way is my real purpose. I want to help people see the path to eternal life through Christ, to enjoy the abundant life now, and to fulfill their God-given purpose here."

What about you? I know for me and CSF...our greatest purpose lines up with the Paul and Tony Dungy.....that is great company!

The way it will work

Okay...one more day until I start for real "our" BLOG. I use the word "our" because it will be more about us as a Fellowship than it will be about me specifically.

For the last 7 years I have sent out a weekly Chalk Talk that was designed to communicate what was happening at CSF and more specifically to communicate to the Players and Coaches at CSF about vision, our purpose and the game plan to achieve the those two things. Starting Wednesday, we will still send out a weekly CSF update. This, however, will be more for information to keep you aware of things going on at CSF. It will also have our weekly Box Score section and running calendar.

The weekly update will have a link to the BLOG and the BLOG links to the weekly update. The BLOG will be daily (M-F) and will be its own site.

What about comments on the BLOG. You will have the ability to comment and communicate back to me and other people about what I said...or what you thought I said..HA HA

However, I will not be responding to the comments. I don't have that kind of desire or time. Moreover, BLOGS and chat rooms are filled with people arguing and debating via the comfort and safety of their computer. I have discovered that people are way more daring, confident and critical when they are not speaking face to face.

My hopes and prayers is that this BLOG venture will be productive, insightful and help the people of CSF move faster toward our Purpose as a Fellowship: "To be a Fellowship that is devoted to Jesus Christ and passionate about impacting our world."

Tomorrow we start for real.....

Here I Go.....

Welcome to my BLOG....That sounds very funny to me. I have said for the past few years when the fad hit that I would never BLOG. To be honest, I don't read BLOGS, I don't spend countless hours surfing the web reading more information than my brain can handle. I don't have a My-Space account, Face-Book or anything like it.

As a husband, father of three kids under nine-years-old and a pastor, I don't have expendable time to read about other peoples daily lives. To me, the few BLOGS I have read over the last few months as I tried to decide if this is what I should do, fall into one of three categories.

NUMBER ONE: BLOGS are the markings of the ME Generation we live in. We have a generation of adults who think so highly of themselves that we believe that complete strangers around the nation actually care what we ate for breakfast, what we thought of the movie we saw last night and what are sweet little kids did in the backyard that made us laugh and so on.

NUMBER TWO: BLOGS by pastors and church leaders is the new way of doing what my profession has been doing for years in the American church. What used to happen at pastors luncheons, local barbershops and denominational or associational meetings now happens over the World Wide Web. Bragging, comparing and sharing with the world how great we are as pastors and what our statistics are each week was nauseating as I read through BLOGS of pastors that I did not know and some that I am familiar. Moreover, I was astonished of the apparent connections. One pastor would say he had "X" amount of people baptized and sure enough the next week another pastor who had read it would have had the same amount or just a few more....crazy! What is placed under the spiritual title known as "Networking" has turned into high-tech ego caressing.

NUMBER THREE: BLOGS that are helpful and insightful. I was challenged to read a few BLOGS by pastors and leaders that I found to be very useful. These BLOGS gave useful insights to biblical passages, current events as they happened around the world and most important to me...a few pastors were using their BLOGS to infuse the specific DNA that makes up their local Fellowship or ministry on a daily basis into the people they lead.

After being directly challenged to at least think about doing a daily BLOG I began to rethink my ideas of never doing a BLOG. Moreover, a young man that I meet with to mentor and have a Bible study said that our times together were helpful and that others would probably enjoy the same practical Bible sharing about daily challenges we all have.

So.....I am going to make a commitment to BLOG. My BLOG will be designed for the people who attend Charlotte South Fellowship. I believe it has the potential to help all the new people of Charlotte South Fellowship to really hear, read and experience the DNA of our Fellowship. I will also make my personal daily Bible reading/learnings a part of my BLOG. I will start the daily stuff on August 8th....the day our weekly Chalk Talk has gone out for the last 8 years.

My BLOG will not be filled with personal stories about my family unless it helps to teach a point. It will not have stats from our weekend services. I will not use the BLOG to try to impress my friends that I have in other states or other pastor leaders who scurry around BLOG world trying to keep up with who is doing what. I just feel like this is a wise "Free" tool to use to continue leading the people of CSF.

I have called it Chalk Talk because it is designed for the people of CSF who are passionate about helping our TEAM be all God has called us to be as a Fellowship. I hope and pray that this venture is helpful to the great people who make up our Fellowship.

Last two things:
1) This post is much longer than anything I plan to write on a daily basis.
2) I will only post M-F. I have no intention of spending time on the weekend writing a BLOG nor expecting people to read it on the weekend......

See you tomorrow....